Faced with the prospect of a new television set or phone that doesn’t work, most people sign away their privacy rights because they mainly just want the TV to work.
Under the ACCC’s consumer protection powers, you only have to give up information which would reasonably be required to work the television.
That is not a case your average consumer wants to pursue and in any case somemight say they are happy to give up their privacy because they are happy with the services they receive.
The point is everyone should have the choice.
This means the ACCC or the Office of Australian Information Commissioner (the privacy commissioner) needs to run a test case to ensure that choice is given.
The alternative is to let Google continue to be able to track you, to know which church you went to in the weekend or which hotel.
In its digital platforms report released last week, the ACCC recommended changes to boost privacy protection.
The government is looking at these but the first step is to actually use the powers that already exist.
Most people have heard about the ACCC and many ACMA but how many people know about the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and its boss Angelene Falk.
That is a problem because there’s not much use in having regulations or regulators sitting there doing nothing.
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What happens when you buy a new television or android phone and don’t agree to the terms of service (which could include waiving all you privacy rights)? — the device won’t work.